INDIAN FOOTBALL NEWS 2018 (FEB-2018)

32 probables Indian team for AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Kyrgyz .

09.03.2018: AIFF PRESS RELEASE : National Coach Stephen Constantine has announced a list of 32 probables for a preparatory camp in Mumbai ahead of India’s forthcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifier match against Kyrgyz Republic scheduled to be played at the Dolon Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on March 27, 2018.

18 teams will play in 2nd DIVN I-LEAGUE 2017-18 .

All India Football Federation League Committee met at the AIFF Football House yesterday (February 20, 2018) and took some vital decisions on the forthcoming Second Division League 2017-18 including the number of teams, the format of the tournament and the schedule.
The Groups of the preliminary round are as mentioned below:

Eighteen teams comprising of seven ISL clubs’ reserve teams (Except ATK, Northeast United FC, Mumbai City FC) who will compete in the preliminary round are divided into three groups. The Preliminary round which will kick-off on March 16, 2018 will continue until May 15, 2018. Teams will play on a home and away basis within the group.

The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finish as winners or runners-up in any group, the position will be passed on to the next non-ISL team.

Four teams will play at the central venue on a ‘single-leg’ league system which will run from May 21, 2018 to May 27, 2018 at the end which the winners would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football.

Each club can register maximum 3 foreign players for the 2nd division league out of which one player has to be a national of an AFC Member Association.

SUPER CUP : The Committee decided on the schedule of the inaugural Super Cup. The qualifiers for the Super Cup are to be played between March 12, 2018 and March 31, 2018 while the final round will be held between March 31, 2018 to April 22, 2018.

The schedule will be finalised keeping in mind the AFC Cup commitments of Aizawl FC and JSW Bengaluru FC (subject to their qualification to the Group Stages) and the venue is to be decided between Cuttack and Kochi after AIFF inspections. The number of foreign players to be registered for the Super Cup was discussed and a final decision will be taken after a final discussion with all stakeholders.

The tournament will be played on a knock-out basis among 16 teams. The top six teams of the Hero I-League and the Hero Indian Super League would be granted a direct entry into the round of 16, while the bottom-placed teams from both the leagues would be playing a play-off to decide on the remaining 4 spots.

2ND DIVISION LEAGUE 2017-18 : Meanwhile, the 2nd division league will be divided into two phases – the preliminary and the final. In the preliminary stage, 18 teams will be divided into three groups where all matches would be played on a home and away basis.

The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finish as winners or runners-up in any group, the position will be passed on onto the next non-ISL team. The final round will be played at a central venue, the winners of which would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football.

Each club can register maximum 3 foreign players for the 2nd division league out of which one player has to be a national of an AFC Member Association.

AIFF YOUTH LEAGUES: It was also discussed and decided to initiate age-group leagues in the states under the State Associations. The top teams of each age-group would be able to participate in AIFF age-group leagues.

===

ABHIJIT MONDAL STARTED A FOOTBALL ACADEMY 11.02.2018: Abhijit Mondal, an eminent Goalkeeper of Indian Football won 5 times I-League and played so many Indian International football for Country today started a Football Academy at Bibeknagar,Jadavpur in association with Bibeknagar Youth Association with a vision to produce footballers in a scientific way and to serve in the main stream of Indian football. Defender Arnab Mondal, the India international and captain of East Bengal club is the Brand Ambassador of the Academy.

'Heroes of Tomorrow Soccer Academy' today inaugurated by the Sports Minister of West Bengal Mr Arup Biswas in presence of Indian international Mr Subrata Bhattacharjee, General Secretary of East Bengal Club,Mr Kalyan Mazumdar and a host of ex and eminent footballers and dignitaries.

10.2.18: The General Secretary of East Bengal, Kalyan Mazumdar sent an email today to AIFF seeking for foreign match referees and match observers in the match against Minerva Punjab FC which is schedule on the 13th of February at Chandigarh. The match can be rated as one of the decisive match in the tournament where the winners will be placed in a comfortable position in the I League table and can step forward towards championship.

In an email sent to AIFF Secretary Kushal Das and I League CEO Sunanda Dhar, General Secretary of East Bengal, Kalyan Mazumdar wrote," Kingfisher East Bengal Football Team has been at the receiving end of several questionable decisions by the respective Match Referees in our prevoius games. There are possibilities that such situations may occur in the match vs Minerva F.C. on the 13th February.

We fear that an Indian referee may be subjected to stress conditions which will impair his ability to conduct the game in an unbiased manner. We would sincerely appreciate if the match is conducted by a reputed team of Referee and Asst. Referees of foreign origin. There has been earlier instances in our matches where such 'special matches' were conducted by Internationally reputed referees of foreign origin keeping the best inerest and spirit of the game."

The Red and Gold secretary further added in the email," A panel of 2 or more additional AIFF match observors and referree assessors should be appointed for his crucial game to ensure that the game is conducted in a fair manner. Such panel can comprise of ex- Indian players who are experienced and have played similar crunch matches in the past."

Regarding the claims of match fixing alleged by Ranjit Bajaj of Minerva Punjab FC on 30th January, Mr Mazumdar urged AIFF to find out the actual reasons and take necessary action in this regard.

===

INDO EUROPE SPORTS AND LEISURE PROMOTION COUNCIL JOINT PRESS RELEASE

09.02.2018: DSA PRESS RELEASE : Indo Portugal Football Development Programmed In Memory of Legendary Indian Football Coach FROM 1951-1962, LATE S.A RAHIM & Legendary Portuguese Footballer (BLANK PANTHER) Eusebio da Silva Ferreira 1966 World Cup New Delhi 07 February 2018 Indo Europe Sports and leisure Council, a registered organization with Ministry of Corporate Affairs Delhi was formed in the year 2016 under the President ship of Mr. Wasim Alvi, an ex Rajasthan Ranji player and Mr CARLOS ANDRE PUALINO DE OLIVEIRO CEO SUN LIVE SPORTS AND PRO DIRECT ACADEMY, PORTUGAL with the objects, to promote relations between India and Portugal through Sports and leisure activities, to promote and develop football among youth of Country so as to make them responsible citizens, to produce class football players to represent and bring laurels to the country.

The Council has till date organized 6 coaching camps under the Polish FA and UEFA PRO licensed coaches and 10 UEFA PRO LICENSE coaches visited India in last 2 years. A record number of more than 1400 players registered and benefitted under these coaches.

Around 50 Coaches also attended seminars and practical classes and learnt latest coaching methods Former renowned Portuguese Coach and former Player, Mr Carlos Andre Paulino De Oliveiro – Council will share his vast experiences on Football. As many as 300 Trainees are expected to participate to get Coaching in Delhi NCR on 8-9 Feb 2018.

In April Council will host and organize mega Portuguese Sports Exhibition in New Delhi to Showcase and Display images of Portuguese Sports Renowned Personalities to inspire our Indian Footballers The council has entered into an Memorandum of understanding with SUN LIVE SPORTS PORTUGAL AND PRO DIRECT ACADEMY PORTUGAL for next 3 years to nurture the young Indian Footballers and to get professional elite football training in Portugal for Short Term and Long term basis and Portuguese under the UEFA Pro License coaches who will also frequently visit India for a shorter and longer term to train northern Indian Footballers.

This will further help in promoting friendship and mutual understanding between Indian and Portuguese people in the coming Months and Years. We Hope to Increase Sporting Contacts between India and Portugal and bring our Sportspersons closer to each to other.

=====

GUFC-KOLHAPUR: 2018 15th Dr. Ghali school league football tournament

WINNER

05.02.2018 :Kolhapur, Maharashtra oriented Gadhinglaj United Football Association successfully complected 15th Dr. Ghali school league football tournament. Sadhana High school emerged the Champion in In U-17 group and u-14 crown went to Shinde High school. Sadhana High school beat Jagruti High school 4-2 where Amit Mantero 2, Anis Attar Attar, Abhisek Kapurkar & From jagruti Vijay Bagadi, Somnath Naik scored goal while in u14 Shinde High school beat Savodaya school 3-1 in the final. Shinde's Dhiraj Kanade, Amol Hanminale, Suhas Jagtap scored for winner and Aditya Karigar scored the laon goal for Runners-up.

Jagruti's Kupinder Powar & V. D. Shinde's Jahid watangi selected the award for "Man of the tournament in u17 and u14 groups respectively.In this tournament total 21 school teams participated. A Total 420 players were participated

PRESS RELEASE - 03.02.2018 : The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Senior Vice-President Subrata Dutta concluded his four-day visit to Germany on Thursday, February 1. Mr. Dutta attended SPOBIS 2018, Europe's leading sports business meet, in Düsseldorf, Germany on January 30 and 31 to address key decision makers on the current state of Indian football, besides meeting leading football officials.

Subrata Dutta shared his views on the current state of Indian football and the opportunities for European clubs and federations on the Indian subcontinent during an exclusive Q&A Session on the SPOBIS stage on Tuesday, January 30. Mr. Dutta made clear that India has a huge potential and that European clubs need to have a genuine long-term plan, if they would like to be successful in India. He urged European clubs to consider India as a serious market as part of their internationalization plans, but underlined that any sort of cooperation and strategy need to be mutually beneficial.

"It was a wonderful experience and I never expected so much. I could meet the who's who of world football at SPOBIS. It's a huge conference attended by thousands of football officials from all over the world. The conference went on very well and I learned a lot. I'm returning to India with a lot of new information, knowledge and experiences," Mr. Dutta told about his visit to SPOBIS 2018.

Speaking about the Q&A Session, the AIFF Senior Vice-President said: "The session went really well. I could inform the audience about Indian football. I told them that Indian football has never been so good."
v
"I told the audience at SPOBIS that the Indian football lovers follow the European leagues, especially the younger generation. There is a lot of enthusiasm about the European leagues, clubs and players. India is a ready market for them to explore and I'm quite sure that the leagues and clubs would benefit of entering the Indian market."

"The meetings were all very fruitful and they are all very much willing to help India and to join hands with us," Mr. Dutta stated. "I was surprised that they are so much willing to know and help Indian football. They were proactive in the discussions. They asked the pertinent questions and they extended the helping hand."

Talking about the meetings, Chris Punnakkattu Daniel said: "We had constructive and fruitful discussions with several officials. I'm happy to see that German football is willing to help India to develop football and to take the Indo-German football relations to a new level. We could see their honest interest to learn about the current state of Indian football and how the DFB, the Bundesliga and their clubs can play a vital role in the future."

"I would like to thank SPONSORs Verlag for hosting Subrata Dutta and our Indian delegation at the SPOBIS 2018 in Düsseldorf. SPOBIS is an excellent platform to reach out to the key decision makers in Europe. I hope we can further strengthen the ties and bring Indian football to the stage once again in 2019," Punnakkattu Daniel added.

Arunava Chaudhuri meanwhile added, "The idea of having Subrata Dutta come to speak and attend the SPOBIS 2018 in Düsseldorf was to give Indian football a platform at Germany and Europe's biggest sports conference. If I see the interest in our session alongside the meetings and interactions then it was a huge success. Now the follow-ups need to happen for knowledge transfer and further interactions."

"SPOBIS 2018 was a platform to enhance and strengthen the ties between India and Germany. The foundations have been laid, now the follow-up need to happen."

SPOBIS is organised by Hamburg-based SPONSORs Verlag, the leading German-language provider of information in the sports business industry. It has established itself as Europe's leading sports business meet since its launch 20 years ago. SPOBIS 2018 welcomed 3.000+ delegates, who attended more than 50 hours of panels and master classes.